Salvation
by Migglie
Summary: Salvation by Migglie details a new threat facing the party from the perspective of Yuffie Kisiragi as she tries to find her place in the world. Does not follow the events of Advent children. Enjoy and comment if you like!
1. Prologue

Prologue 

The room erupted as Lord Godo nodded gently and smirked. The cheers echoed throughout the halls of the Ancient Pagoda of Wutai, only inflating Yuffie's determination. She was the same Yuffie that that we have always known – defiant and spirited, a young woman who prided herself on her optimistic nature. One difference of note was that Yuffie was now seventeen - as of this very day in fact. It was the official coming of age in Wutain society when the gods would bestow upon their people the gifts of responsibility, honour and courage.

It was true to say that the ninja had matured – saving the world naturally merits a person a wider knowledge of things. She had decided some months ago to grow her hair longer, striving for a new look, a new Yuffie. The hair, as of this day had lengthened to just above her shoulders. She found combing her hair devilishly difficult and so the overall look was far from sophisticated. But with an assortment of dainty clips from here and there, one could much to admire in her handiwork. Across both her arms were various bangles, undoubtedly assembled from anything she could lay her fingers on. She was especially proud of the total mismatch of colours.

Yuffie's father was equally distinguished. He was a man of the battlefield, with a respect worthy of a legion of even the most valiant of soldiers. The Great War had chiselled Godo into a pitiless fighter and memories of Wutai's fall forgotten even to him, survived somewhere in his mind tainting his thoughts with the most cruel of attacks. Grey was his face as his eyes gazed upon his daughter. Impatient, he raised a hand to hush the crowd, confident in his authority over them. Yet, there was still at least one individual in Wutai who had yet to respect him fully….

"Yuffie Kisaragi" he began, enjoying the attention though trying not to reveal it.

"THE Yuffie Kisaragi. Legendary Yuffie Kisaragi! Yuffie the renowned materia hunter! Yes, that's me!"

She had rehearsed these lines over and over.

Lord Godo chuckled.

"Is that what they call you now? Someone ought to tell them…"

The apparent tension between father and daughter had not gone unnoticed by the assembly of old men. They had certainly heard of the bickering of Lord Godo and that girl of his for it was legendary in Wutai. Still, they were stunned to see it all, absorbing every moment with baited breath. Godo and Yuffie revelled in the response for a moment before continuing their battle of wit.

"Cram it, old man! You've passed your sell-by date"

"Have I indeed? How amusing it will be when the legend falls to a pensioner?"

"I'm laughing at the very suggestion of it"

Yuffie released a small, fake chortle and returned Godo's grin.

"Enough already! No more mindless banter kid. Last time we met, I held back. I felt pity for you! But no more! If this is what you want…"

Yuffie still had a million more comebacks to fire back at her father but as he assumed a battle stance she groaned and sighed,

"It really is…"

A serenade of "ooh"s and "ahh"s flourished from the circle of men, now huddled against the walls of the room, understandably concerned for their safety. Yuffie had taken out her fatal Conformer, a beautifully lavish golden wheel, laden with ancient ruby-coloured runes. She showed off her prize possession to the room, glossing her fingers over the sharp spires that grew from the centre of the weapon. She performed a familiar two leaps on the spot, followed by a perfected 360-degree pirouette. She swung the Conformer around randomly, simply to flaunt and taunt, again earning her a room full of whimpers. She paused briefly and declared "I'm ready, dad!"

"As am I" Godo replied smugly.

He paused for a few seconds. The room fell silent. On his subtle nod, two of Godo's juniors stood up and began to remove his long violet cloak, while a third ensured that his hair was firmly tightened. When he was content, he gave another nod and the juniors stood back in a line behind him, arms crossed and heads down. Godo stretched and following Yuffie's lead joined her in a very ritualistic encircling of the room as they glared at each other. However, after a few moments of this routine, Godo could delay no longer.

"Omni-Charge" he yelled, his bass voice booming across the walls and the ceiling.

Before she knew it, Yuffie had to cartwheel left narrowly missing Godo's huge sword lunging at her. A roll to the side followed as he tried again, this time even closer to his target. Much to Yuffie's delight, his face tensed with frustration at Yuffie's evasion skills. Still, she could already feel the struggle and as much as she hated to admit it, Godo was good - very good. She suspected he had been training extra hard for this. The floorboard's creaked rowdily as their feet hammered across the room and Yuffie's soles screeched across the floorboards. Godo was still eager to use his mighty sword attack, missing her once more though almost striking several of the spectators who could barely keep up with the action. To follow up to her father's offence she showed off with a flashy back flip and no sooner had she had recovered her balance, his mighty blade pounced upon her. This time Godo succeeded…_just. _Yuffie was flung abruptly against the pagoda wall, soon after two of the viewers had dived to safety. The first exchange in combat ensued,

"Gorky sends his regards" he sniggered.

Yuffie ignored her father, gasping for breath. With a fearless disregard for her throbbing back, she leapt back to her feet, fuming.

"Gawd!" she mumbled.

Godo began to gleefully amuse himself by flaunting his sword skills to the crowd, weaving the weapon through his legs and above his head. In doing so, he was taken by great surprise as his daughter flew towards him. She returned his deed with a stab to the leg adding,

"Yeah, send the brat my love"

The crowd continued to watch in disbelief. A few tried to discreetly edge their way to the doorway. To Yuffie it was obvious that Godo had invited these respected seniors as a way to redeem his previous embarrassment. No less than seven months ago, she had overwhelmed him in battle and then went on to fight with Cloud. Everybody in Wutai knew – Yuffie had fought alongside Cloud. Yuffie's suspicions were not far at all from the truth. It was both bizarre and a little sad. Godo felt challenged by his daughter every day. After all, he was the Lord of the Pagoda. Far from being a proud parent, Godo took Yuffie's success and competitive spirit as a threat to his self-esteem. Blood is thicker than water but it would seem that nothing was as thick as Godo's stubbornness. As their brutal fight illustrated, their relationship had never really been an intimate one – not a conventional one anyway. After all, not many daughters could backchat as mercilessly as Yuffie and even fewer fathers challenge their daughters to a head-on-head assault.

"Trine my dear, trine!" Godo screeched, now visibly suffering from his slashed shins. He rotated his crimson head and a golden visage stared at Yuffie threateningly. It was the head's eyes – they did not blink and they would not stop staring at her.

"Grossness!" she squealed.

After the defeat of Sephiroth, Yuffie had felt rather awkward. The battle had been fought and won. Yet, despite what she used to think and used to say, Yuffie had changed forever. With Cloud, she could truthfully say that she had made friends, partners and allies. People who would protect her and people worth protecting. She had not wanted it to end.

"Haste! Prepare yourself for some Yuffie-esque ass kickin', goddit?" she proclaimed, as she opted for the speed approach.

As everyone went their separate ways, she herself had returned to the place that she had devoted her efforts to in the first place. The adventure was over and she was left in dismay. Miss. Kisaragi had indeed received a heroine's welcome, complete with complimentary gossip for a change and lavish celebrations at the Turtle Paradise. Wutai prospered from her success. Overlooked by the great elders carved in the ancient rock of the mountains, the small resort town seemed to be entering a new age beneath their very eyes and Yuffie had the biggest part to play in that. At her request, the gentle river that drifted through the main square was now abundant with large water-lilies that shimmered in the moonlight. Nearly every household in Wutai suddenly owned at least two cats. Kids in the street re-enacted 'The adventures of Yuffie' every afternoon. The whole place definitely felt a lot more vibrant, there were new houses popping up towards the north and scholars arrived everyday to the delight of local inns searching 'knowledge of this fascinating culture'. Yuffie was most pleased by this, reaffirming Wutai's reputation as the world's best supplier of ninja warriors. Sure, the town had benefited largely from tourism (much to the her irritation) but even she could not deny the joy that she felt when she heard the tourists refer to Wutai, "_birthplace of Yuffie Kisaragi"_

"Bah! Regeneration ought to squander your efforts" Godo insisted.

With arms flailing wildly, he cast regeneration and his grimace quickly turned into a mischievous grin. Yuffie gave a whimper but instantly took the opportunity for another bash at her father.

"Gee, you really are asking for it. Comet!"

And with a word, the beams of the roof above began to vibrate violently and the whole pagoda, which was hardly the sturdiest of structures as it was, seemed to sway. A distant rumble grew to become a thunderous echo and above Yuffie's head, an opening was scorched away from the roof as hot sunbeams blinded Godo and a shower of blazing meteorites poured through the roof.

"Nasty, huh dad? Even I feel painful after that!" as she gazed breathlessly at the roof, singed charcoal black.

However more 'pleasant' life had become over the last few months, the world's number one materia hunter never lost her desire to brave the outside. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would roam the planes hunting and enjoying the fervour of the battlefield. The fight gave Yuffie confidence and an unrivalled feeling of superiority. The challenge was everything to her - it was partly due to this that she had dared accept Godo's request for this brawl, 'a true test' for her coming of age. He knew that she would accept - knowing well her lust for both battle and materia (he had even suggested that the Leviathan materia be returned should she lose).

Yet in spite of the pleasure that combat provided and the prosperity of her beloved Wutai, it was nothing in comparison. In these last few weeks especially, she was becoming obsessive. Roaming the world with her friends, even if she was forced to endure the harsh reality of motion sickness was what she craved. Travelling the world, saving the world, fighting for justice and fighting with friends. These longings invaded her dreams and the loneliness was unbearable.

"Eugh…this is worse than motion sickness" the young ninja squealed, turning paler by the second. Godo was delighted at the success of his poison casting,

"I can't believe you didn't prepare for that girl. Very, very sloppy"

By this time, even the most courageous of the gentlemen were cringing at the violence before their eyes. Yuffie remained motionless. Godo resumed his disdainful comments,

"After all those years of buying mufflers, I've finally wound a way to shut you…"

But he did not wrap up that sentence. He could not. Yuffie had performed an array of gymnastics and pounced on him, her face contorted with rage – Doom of the Living. Blink and you would have missed each strike of her Conformer tear through Godo's limbs. A cartwheel to the right later and she was exhausted, yet felt all the better for it. Her knees collapsed and she toppled over onto her back. Godo soon followed.

But how could she fight alongside her friends if there was nothing to fight? She had not had the courage to get in contact with any of them since they all went their separate ways. She could only guess where in the world they were anyway. And she would understand if they were not so enthusiastic or one hundred percent trusting of her. Any prospect that her days with them could be relived had faded.

"It's as you always said, grandpa. Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless. Boring proverb number one or whatever" Yuffie panted, clutching her aching forehead, "I guess I must have them both".

As she hobbled to her feet, she could not help but smile. Godo moaned in pain, humiliated and all the while his associates looked on in awe. Two leaps and a sloppy pirouette ensued, followed by bows to every corner of the room.

"Loser dad! You're a loser!"

Later than evening, two storms brewed in Wutai. The sky was overcast. Leaves flew aimlessly in the streets and torrents of rain raced across the rooftops of the town. The lilies toppled helplessly under the downpour and everyone was sheltered in their cosy homes. Outside it was deafening.

Godo was infuriated. As Staniv attended his wounds, Yuffie took every opportunity to goad him. He avoided looking into her proud gaze and hung his head, pretending to be snoozing. The day had not played out as he had expected and he was probably more frustrated that he had arranged this thrashing in the first place. Staniv, as much as she respected Godo could not help but snigger behind a pillow that she wisely carried in her hand that evening in case she got the giggles.

Before long, Yuffie lost interest and retreated to her own residence, scurrying through puddles and squinting along the way. Despite the best efforts of her arms flapping over her head, she was damp from head to toe. The time-honoured kick to her door allowed Yuffie to reach shelter and let out a well-deserved shriek of satisfaction. At her call, eleven cats streamed from all directions to greet her, circling her feet and competing for her affection. She picked up a jet-black cat aptly named Shadow and brushed her fingers gently through his thick coat. There she stood for a moment, static and pensive, the victory replaying in her mind.

The door pulsated with a thud. Yuffie snapped out of her daze and turned. Not entirely pleased to be interrupted at this time of night, she gently released Shadow who joined the other cats herding behind her like bodyguards. She opened the door, the rain blowing into the entrance and brought her hand to her forehead,

"Barret!"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – An Answered Prayer

Without a word, he gestured towards the Turtle Paradise. Without consideration she followed Barret back into the turbulent weather, sniffing yet too astounded to speak. Barret remained silent too, although Yuffie was sure that she heard him murmuring "Goddamit" and "Shit" in the midst of the thunderous downpour. Once they had arrived under the shelter of the Turtle Paradise porch, he stopped abruptly, wheezed and parked himself on the floor. He signalled Yuffie to do the same and she complied, staring at him.

This was the first chance she had of getting a proper look at Barret Wallace. He now wore a thick, leather jacket, populated with many emblems of 'Avalanche'. Despite his tough image, Yuffie noted that it did not really suit him and on that thought she summoned up a vision of him dressed in a sailor suit "like a marshmallow bear". Her snigger broke the silence.

Yuffie never imagined having such an intimate talk with Barret. They never really had compatible personalities but Yuffie perceived his warmth as genuine and his trademark impulsive passion was springing from his words.

"Yuffie, it's good to see ya" he began.

"Gee, Barret...that's so nice of you to say that...you sick or something?"

Although she intended a joke, Barret seemed to read her mind.

"'Bout stealin' our materia that time? I dunno. I reckon I can trust ya. Perhaps"

He handed her a small chunk of sapphire-coloured materia to reiterate his point. She pocketed it swiftly out of habit and shook her head violently.

"Don't be so sure! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!"

Her rather artificial impudence did not appear to wash with Barret anymore. He ignored her and began to absent-mindedly stroke the gun drafted into his arm.

"Summin's come up"

"What? The Shin-Ra?"

"Mebbe. We don't know nothin' yet."

"Gawd, I hate those creeps. Well? Do you know anything?"

"Well, I been mindin' my own business back in Corel, when only last week, old lady Dorene, bless her, comes runnin' up to me. She starts tellin' me all about the stuff she's been hearin' round the place. Word is that those miserable folks down in Mideel been sightin' some massive beast flyin' crazy, tearin' up their newly built homes an'…"

Barret was losing himself in the words. Yuffie interrupted calmly,

"A flying beast? Ha, ha – sounds like fun"

"What! Don't be so damned…"

Barret was serious and although she was itching to answer back, she fought against the urge.

"Pretty damn creepy too, so they say" Barret went on. "Fifty feet tall. What d'ya think of that?"

"I don't really think"

Barret chuckled and now began to tap his feet to the rhythm of the rainwater plummeting off the roof.

"Huh? Hey…HEY! I mean, I don't think about appearances. I mean, who would figure me for the most conniving sixteen…no seventeen-year old girl out there? Looks…they don't mean a thing"

"Well, yeah, so we were thinkin' 'bout goin' down there. Checkin' it out"

After what seemed like an aeon of torture and yearning, it finally seemed like her prayers were being answered. She illustrated her glee with a beam, quickly brushing it off. Barret raised an eyebrow as Yuffie briefly closed her eyes,

"So? You want my help. You should know, I don't do charity work"

Barret remained silent, anticipating her response.

"I know you want my help because I'm so good!" she continued chirpily.

Still Barret refused to say a single word. Her eyes opened and her expression lost all its buoyancy. In a flat tone, she tried once again.

"Uh, Barret. Say something. HEYEE! Say something, PLEASE!"

Barret rose to his feet and a disenchanted Yuffie followed. Once more, Barret seemed to have reversed from a cheery mood to sombre one.

"I went to find Cid first 'cause of the Highwind. Told him 'bout Mideel, about maybe Shin-Ra being behind it. Maybe the Turks?"

"I thought they were gone?"

"Who knows? He agreed straightaway to check it out. He left a good life back in Rocket Town, getting on with his life. I 'unno the details. I don't wanna pry. But he saw that he was needed and he came here with me"

Yuffie only then acknowledged that she was shivering uncontrollably – she had been out in the cold for ten minutes now. If she was going to leave with Barret …

"I might as well leave now, y'know"

"S'long as you can behave" Barret replied, relieved.

"Gee, guess I should tell someone that I'm going…"

Barret put his hand on her should firmly, then released the pressure. Upon Yuffie's startled gape he explained,

"We should probably keep this hush-hush if ya know what I mean. Can't worry the people. Jus' not a good idea"

And with that, he stepped back into the chaos of the tempest, still as unruly as ever. She had already made up her mind from the moment Barret mentioned the very possibility that she could join him once more. One more ("Ugh annoying!") spree across the bridge to her warm and most importantly, dry home and Yuffie was frantically emptying everything she had (even the cat litter tray) searching for a shuriken, a bracelet, an armlet, or anything that might possibly be of use. She eventually discovered a ribbon down the side of a desk, recalling her foolishness earlier that day and Godo's poison attack. She still felt like vomiting and if she had touched the rice that Staniv offered her, she probably would have. She finally settled with her Conformer, Wind Slash and 4-point Shuriken (just in case), a Minerva band and a ribbon. She said her goodbyes to each cat individually, backing towards the door and blowing kisses at them. Each bowed their head respectfully. With that, Yuffie left her haven. When she might return, she had no idea.

Barret offered to lighten the load as she wobbled towards the town exit. She took a glance back at the Pagoda, thoughts wandering towards her father. Yuffie embraced the guilt that these thoughts invoked – she deserved to feel blameworthy for neglecting her life there. But it was time to remind the people of Wutai why she was the mightiest of them all.

"I thought you'd never get your ass back here. Thought you'd turned native, Barret!"

"Hmph! Are you _still_ alive?" Yuffie joked, upon sighting Cid Highwind. Cid smirked to himself, before lighting a cigarette and proceeded leisurely towards Yuffie. He stopped before her, paused and without warning brlew into her face without restraint.

"Eww!" Yuffie shrieked, hopping in circles and overplaying Cid's teasing. Yuffie sought some sympathy from Barret, but he did not seem interested.

She considered giving Cid a playful hug. After all, he was much more laid-back than Barret, who always seemed restless, agitated by something. She broke into giggles and went for it. Just a quick cuddle was enough. Cid returned it, somewhat half-heartedly but the thought was there. She turned, remembering that Barret was still in the room – she certainly did not greet him so enthusiastically.

"Lemme show you to the cockpit" he announced hurrying gleefully and lugging Yuffie along by her arm,

"Gee, you sure know how treat a lady…!"

The Highwind gave a deep grumble, as all around the crew darted about preparing for take-off. Yuffie swivelled happily on the pilot' seat, Barret gazed into the pitch black outside and Cid's face was reddening to a cherry colour with excitement. It had been too long since he had been Captain of the Highwind, the airship of AVALANCHE.

His crew murmured "Yup, he's been drinkin' again" between themselves, associating his high spirits with his renowned drinking habits. They were misinformed this time but in all his delight Cid did not hear a word.

Unlike Yuffie and Barret, who had given their images some updates, he had conscientiously maintained his appearance. He was probably slightly stubbier around the chin and smoked a couple more cigarettes each day.

"Alright, alright! You all gotta get us through this DAMN storm, ya hear? Alright, we're goin' to do a little public transport duty, nothing too taxin"

"Yo, Cid. Nibelheim next!"

"You heard the man, get a move on!"

Motion sickness. It topped Yuffie's Top Ten list of pet peeves, beating off competition such as Don Corneo, being knocked out, her father and Shin-Ra Inc. It was all part of the vicious circle of saving the world she reassured herself. She paced up and down, desperately trying to ignore the soft humming from the processors and the distorted blares of the engine.

"Oh. Kay. Yuff. You're brave…er, stuff." She repeated. She even reduced herself to singing it before the crew, receiving scattered claps of both sarcasm and pity.

Such was Cid's pity that he resoluted to revving the engines into full force, just to drown out her chanting.

Barret wondered if Yuffie was aware the attention that she was acquiring. She did _seem_ pretty ignorant of it. This time he could not quite figure her out. He gave up.

The Highwind finally soared into the sky, as Yuffie was swept off her feet. She had been so consumed with her pep talk that she had failed to heed Cid's warnings,

"Shit Yuffie! Grab hold of somethin' will ya? The weather's not pretty tonight!"

She obeyed him, and made for the nearest object, a navigator's leg.

"Yeooch! Ow ow ow ow ow!" he retorted. But it was hopeless - Yuffie was not releasing her grip.

"Quit complaining! I bet your loving every second of it!" she howled.

His colleagues tittered as his faced became an even deep shade of purple than Cid's.

"Get your asses back to flyin' this plane!"

The rumbling continued. This weather truly was dreadful. Yuffie's arms were beginning to ache and her head was thumping in agony.

"WH-HY doesn't it st-top? I'm getting dizzz…" she complained.

"For goodness sake, do you come with a mute button?"

One of the operators plucked up the courage to complain about her outbursts.

"No, but a rewind button to rewind your manliness if you know what I me…!"

Unsurprisingly, he did not have a clue. Another member interrupted her,

"Captain! Captain, hostile entities up on deck! Repeat! Hostile entities up on desk!"

"Aw, shit!"

Cid remained hushed for a few moments. Yuffie freed her arms and looked back and forth between him and Barret. Cid gritted his teeth then barked,

"Errol, Bagby and um…ohhhhh… new guy. See if you can get her stable!"

Three crewmembers sprang from their positions and began wrestling with the helm. Barret watched the inexperienced pilots with apprehension.

"Barret, Yuffie, up on deck! NOW!"

Yuffie had expected action; she yearned for it. But did it have to happen so soon? Did it have to happen when she felt that vomit crawling up her throat again? Barret swept passed her, dragging her out by her arm. There was no time for pleasantries, Barret thought, as he opted to carry her under his right arm. Under normal circumstances she may have retaliated but she was grateful for his thoughtfulness.

Cid burst through the rusty door to the deck, bearing arguably his most prized possession, the stunning Venus Gospel. The din outside was even more distressing to the ears. The rain looked as if it had ceased; but the merciless wind nipped at their ears. Barret fought to sustain his balance,

"Goddammit, Cid! Where are they?"

Yuffie jumped from Barret's strapping grip,

"Geeez, even _my_ patience is wearing thin!"

The guys yelled something of a similar meaning, though no one could hear one another. Despite this, Yuffie managed to detect some justified use of excessive swearing between the two of them.

"Alright, I've had enough of…"

The shadow of something dived vertically from above, striking Cid on the back of his neck. If he had sworn unduly before it was unquestionably reasonable now. He clenched his neck at the scratch, as Barret hurried cautiously to his aid. Yuffie glanced around the vicinity. She headed for the edge of the deck, strong-minded as ever and glanced downwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of the shadow.

"Hey, come out and play!" she hollered at the top of her voice seizing the safety barrier. But despite her best efforts, she could not distinguish anything in the pitch black. She could not tolerate the throbbing in her head for very long and directed her attention to Cid. She approached him,

"Hey! How you doing with that! Okay?"

"He's alright, Yuffie. You see anythin'!" Barret was literally shouting into her ear just so that he could be heard.

Yuffie shook her head desperately, her cheeks glowing scarlet from the blustery weather.

"Then let's get the hell outta here!" Cid exclaimed, before emptying a bottle of potion. Both Yuffie and Barret nodded in agreement, eager to thaw out their icy fingers.

The Highwind had by now overcome the regretful takeoff conditions and graced through the rain clouds steadily. The fiend, whatever it was, seemed to have dispersed. Cid gave them his consent with a nod and they hurried inside.

"Gotcha, ya damn freak!"

Yuffie and Barret spun in surprise at Cid's sudden, crusty outbreak. Before his feet slumped the mystery monster, impaled on the Venus Gospel. Cid looked noticeably pleased with his stealthy kill, drawing his spear from the chest. Upon Yuffie and Barret's expression, he explained coolly,

"What?"

Despite the incident aboard the Highwind, they arrived outside Nibelheim before dawn. By some blessed miracle, Yuffie had managed to complain herself into a deep slumber. Her dream was pretty ridiculous. She was on holiday in Cosmo Canyon, accompanied by the toothless elderly gentleman from next-door. He was pestering her for money to buy some bait to fuel his fishing addiction. She refused adamantly until Godo appeared handing the man a fresh packet of salmon. Then he pointed towards his daughter, insisting that she needed to take some dancing lessons to improve her balance. Barret subsequently waltzed into view, sporting a skin-tight ballet dress…

"Whaddaya mean ya weren' lookin' at me funny! My ass you weren't!"

"Buh…Barre…" Yuffie murmured.

"Don' jus' whimper! Don' play innocent either!"

"Guuuuhh…" Yuffie uttered weakly.

"You jus' watch it, you jus' watch it!"

"Ayum…yum..yum" Yuffie had dribbled all over her cheeks.

All of a sudden, she opened her left eye slightly. There was Barret storming off, deliberately stomping every step. Squatting in the corner, Yuffie recognised the new recruit of the Highwind, snivelling pathetically. She promptly realised that she had not dreamed Barret's scornful words; _she had overheard them_. He had intimidated the poor man to tears. Yuffie pondered for a few seconds longer, but as quickly as she had awakened she nodded off silently, forgetting what she had witnessed.

On this occasion, Yuffie was sampling some of Staniv's poor cuisine. However, a Razor Weed on a pet leash was warning her not to eat the food, in case she was too plump to fit through the manhole. Below her was indeed a manhole on her bedroom floor (just as it seemingly always had been). Staniv offered to accompany her as they descended the ladder. They found themselves inside an abandoned Mako reactor that looked like it expanded upwards forever. Yuffie marched triumphantly towards Rufus, offered him the Razor Weed and received a piece of materia from him in gratitude. Staniv was weeping with joy, as Yuffie turned to her,

"I'm going to stand for President, Staniv. You really ought to…"

Yuffie stirred. That dream had been exceedingly enjoyable, although the details immediately began streaming from her memory. Yawning uncontrollably, she hopped from her comfy divan, which had been positioned in the large chamber of the Highwind. From her position, she took some time to observe her surroundings. While the cockpit had remained the exactly as she had remembered over the last few months, there was no doubt that some effort had been made to decorate _this_ room.

Surrounding the machinery was some shabby furniture that had been placed around a sizeable yet delicately designed carpet. Woven into it was image of a man in a graceful pose, gawping into the sky. Although the gentleman blocked up the majority of the picture, she could just about distinguish the Highwind hovering in the corner. It was most definitely meant to be Cid, although the primitive art style and limited colours bore little resemblance.

It only occurred after minutes of Yuffie's aimless reflections that perhaps they had arrived at Nibelheim by now. She tripped over her feet racing towards the cockpit only to find that someone had witnessed her clumsiness. A black glove stooped down to lift her up to her feet.

"Cloud!" Yuffie screeched excitedly.

"It's good to see you, Yuffie," he stammered as she clasped his shoulders.

One thing about Cloud was that if you were interacting with him in any way, you really were in the spotlight. He smiled softly from beneath a mauve scarf that extended into a long, tattered cloak brushing the floor. His face looked fresh and hearty for a change. Yuffie paused. She thought back over how taxing she had been on Cloud's patience in the past and how had always maintained a brotherly tolerance. Although she refused to share this with him in words, a warm embrace informed Cloud of her feelings.

Despite the fact that each of the two might have an endless source of things to talk about, the words yet again failed to reach their mouths. While this was Cloud's style, it was certainly not hers. Following the brief silence, Cloud turned proceeding towards the cockpit.

"So I hear that you had a brawl last night up on deck. Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah, we did, but…naw, I'm okay!" Yuffie noticed such amiability in his expression, more than she ever had before. Perhaps so much time spent with Tifa had rubbed onto him. Perhaps she had finally cracked that aloof exterior. By this time, Cloud had raised an eyebrow, guessing that she was thinking something along these lines.

"Nothin'" she squeaked guiltily.

"Nothing?" he shrugged.

"Tifa! Cloud, I wanna see Tifa!"

Yuffie peered into those startling azure eyes, "I wanna see her, Cloud"

"She's been talking about seeing you again you know" Cloud explained to a surprised Yuffie.

"Really!" she replied in disbelief.

"Really. Follow me, follow me. She's just over at the house."

"Tifa wants to see me?"

It only occurred to Yuffie later that perhaps this was not quite as surprising as she initially thought. Previously, she had this idea planted in her head that of all people, Tifa would be happy to forget her. Yuffie knew that she herself had hardly been a very reliable member of the gang. In fact, she had been proud of this when she had first encountered Cloud. It was not until much later that she even considered retracting her mischievous behaviour.

At the same time, Tifa Lockheart had been level-headed and dependable throughout the entire journey. As a result she felt inferior to Tifa, both as a companion and a woman.

There was even more to it than that. Tifa and Cloud now resided in Nibelheim together. Though they were not married Yuffie was sure that they were more than "just friends". They had each other now, a new life and new friends. So why would Tifa care so much to see her?

But as Yuffie lay on the Highwind sofa that evening she scrapped this theory - Tifa had really changed.

She was still as pleasant as ever before, of course. She had cuddled Yuffie like a sister upon their reunion and offered Yuffie some snacks while she packed her belongings. She even tolerated Yuffie's thrashing at her piano. It was not so much Tifa's personality as her zest that Yuffie sensed was absent. She struggled to put her finger on the difference.

For one thing, Tifa did not seem in top shape – a paler face and a lack of energy were evident. She was quite a contrast from Cloud in that sense. Maybe her lethargic nature stemmed from a simple cold but Yuffie sensed more. As she sat in Tifa's kitchen with the others she wondered if anybody else had noticed. Barret and Cid's vacant expressions suggested that they had not. Even Cloud seemed blissfully unaware of Tifa's weak smiles and fidgeting fingers. Perhaps it was women's intuition. Maybe Tifa would choose to confide in her? It was all very puzzling. It was all rather intriguing.

In any case, Yuffie's mind caved in with all the mental rhetoric. It was time for another nap she decided, yawning and she soon succumbed to the swaying of the Highwind and began dreaming once again.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Flight to Mideel

Now with five members of the gang together again, Yuffie was quickly reacquainting herself with the camaraderie that was buzzing in the air. It was wonderful. Lying on her couch, (which the crew had by now made a conscious and unanimous decision to avoid stepping into vicinity of) Yuffie counted down the list of some other faces from her past,

"Mmm…Cait…Cait…Cait Sith. Gawd. He was a cute snookum of a thing…" she uttered to herself, "…but with the whole disappearing act thing after Sephiroth, he probably won't show"

A few crew members gazed in her direction, intrigued by her ignorance that she was talking to herself.

"Oh yeah, Vincent. Gawd! He was just, just weird. Too much ick there for my liking…" She sat up straight "…yeah, he was kinda, kinda…what's the word?"

She wrestled with the _Yuffie Kisaragi Cranium Dictionary_ for a fitting adjective.

"Icky" she decided.

She finally stretched her legs and sat up, her forearms resting on her knees. After a pause she whispered to herself,

"Kinda cute though. In a loose-screw-demon-of-the-night-nutbar way".

But it was a loud whisper and prompted several more crew members to swing their heads in the opposite direction. Yuffie had finally noticed them and largely out of embarrassment silently shifted towards the stairs to the cockpit, her eyes glued to the floor.

Cloud caught her off-guard as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She finally lifted her head,

"Oh, Cloud…er…Hi! Erm, morning to you!"

"And you…" Cloud answered immediately noticing Yuffie's blushing cheeks.

"Er…perfect day for some material hunting, you know. So…you better watch your pockets, mister!"

Yuffie was putting on her cheeky bandit role and to her relief Cloud did not seem to probe any further into the matter,

"Try that and Barret'll have to sit on you" he joked, as Barret stirred in the corner.

She heaved a brief sigh of relief as Cloud continued,

"In case you were wondering, only Red will be joining us. We couldn't find Cait or Vincent. You remember Vincent don't you?"

The very mention of Vincent made Yuffie's eyes twitch.

Had Cloud heard her confession of attraction? Could he have? Her head tried to make sense of her heart. Why did she even care what Cloud or anybody thought? She was allowed to have a crush, right? And Vincent was not even that good-looking anyway. Why be ashamed of that?

"That's right. So listen up good! It's gonna be even worse than we thought. So do as I say, awright?"

Barret had emerged from the corner.

"We're gonna land soon, down in Mideel. Red is waitin' for us"

"So he'll probably have sampled some of the big monster badness…"

Yuffie's passing comment was not appreciated by Barret who cut her off mid-sentence.

"Tifa, Cid and Yuffie. I'm sendin' you three to the front. That thing's gotta be dealt with. You up to it?"

This was one of the few things that Yuffie _was_ sure of. She really was ready for this and Barret's decision brought a smile to her face. But before she could reveal her agreement Barret continued,

"Cloud and me. We'll…take care everything else"

What exactly he meant, Yuffie did not know but with Barret in such a humourless state these days she thought best not to ask.

Cloud however, seemed equally oblivious,

"Other matters? What other matters?" he questioned quite innocently.

Barret turned and strided back towards his seat in the corner,

"Ya know. Helpin' the townsfolk. There are always townsfolk who needed helpin'"

His sentence drowned towards the end as he sunk into the chair and shut his eyes.

Yuffie turned to Cloud,

"I'm not even gonna ask!"

After a few hours and yet more moaning on her behalf, Yuffie retreated to the top deck, expecting to hurl at any moment. The sky was clear, a deep blue and the clouds sweeping past reminded her of some winter wonderland in the north. The cool air calmed her agitated stomach and cleansed her head of the throbbing. She thought about Wutai.

Bagby, the youngest of all the crew was pacing up and down the deck as Yuffie slumped herself over the barrier and gazed at the clouds dashing past her. She caught sight of him as he peeked at his pocket watch.

"Hey, how long left until we reach…?"

"'Bout 5 minutes! 5 minutes about."

"Right. Thanks, erm, Bagby was it?"

He stood petrified on the spot. She waited for a response but none came. Instead, Bagby backed towards the door, his pointed eyes intent on her own and he disappeared down the stairs.

This was really irritating her now. It was even upsetting her. Not one pilot had made an effort to speak to her or even reply to her when she spoke. Was she really that intolerable? She did not think so - if it was rude to complain sometimes or be loud or even have a reputation like hers, then it was even worse that they were ignoring her for that. Then again, she appreciated that she was somewhat loud. But this was only sometimes.

Then the Vincent thing bounced back into her mind. Once again, her mind was drifting into overdrive. Maybe she felt guilty about her crush. Possibly, deep down she believed that her image as the defiant ninja would be damaged if she submitted to the lure of romance. Violating that was not an option. It was who she wanted to be after all. Vincent was hardly her type at any rate. No one was her type nor she theirs and that was that.

"Yuffie. How you holding up?"

It was Tifa. She was now in her combat gear which had, by the looks of it, changed as much as Tifa had. In accordance with Tifa's more insecure disposition, she now wore a coffee-coloured cardigan over her the turquoise blouse and she had ditched her rather revealing skirt for a knee-length, denim one. Her hair was as lengthy and graceful as ever before, but Yuffie was sure that the deep chocolate colour of her hair had faded over the past months. That said, Tifa had adopted a more dynamic tone,

"You know. I've been waiting some time to get back out there again"

"Really? Me, me too!"

"Is that right?"

Yuffie nodded in delight. Perhaps Tifa was not quite as dissimilar to herself. In spite of their differences they both seemed to crave the battlefield. It kept their qualms at the back of their minds. Yuffie paused. Was that really what Tifa was like? She thought back. Tifa always did prefer the pacifist approach. Then again, it was hard to reason with some people.

"So, what's on your mind?"

"Oh nothing" Yuffie lied. There were countless things on her mind. But she was not one to share.

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Tifa seemed to have been honing in on Yuffie's troubles as much as she had detected troubles in Tifa.

"Here. Maybe this'll cheer you up"

Tifa offered her a red chunk of materia as Yuffie gawped at it. The ruby-tinted summon materia was glowing and warmed the palm of her hand as she took it from Tifa. Just as with Barret, a surge of glee filled her upon the sight of materia.

"I guess it's working…say, I can't take this from you!"

"Oh no no. You see, I stumbled upon whilst trekking on Mount Nibel but really, I have enough materia as it is. Besides, better this way than you steal it from me later, huh?"

And with a small chuckle followed by a small cough, Tifa proceeded downstairs without another word.

Chapter 3 – An enemy to the rescue? 

It was no time to worry about trivialities, Yuffie concluded as she stepped down the Highwind's rope ladder. Cloud's unrivalled motivation was enough to completely rid her of all that psychological garbage. After a short and snappy gathering in the conference room, her job was clear – head straight for the beast and take it down. It was still morning, though a rumble in Yuffie's stomach informed her that lunchtime was near. The sun blazed down onto the plain, causing countless twinkles on the dewy grass. She stepped onto the soft ground and across the meadow.

The Highwind was stationed about a half a mile east of the Mideel woods upon a shallow knoll, but even from this distance it was instantly recognisable to Yuffie,

"That's…a Weapon!"

Cid lit a cigarette with a grumble.

"Goddammit. Lady Luck hates my guts"

"It's huuu-ggee!"

"And just when I thought we were goin' on a picnic"

It was a Weapon alright, looming silently over the desolate village of Mideel. It was unlike any other Weapon Yuffie had ever seen – a dragon-like creature with at least twenty set of wings across its feathered back. Most astonishing of all however was its colour – a shimmering light grey.

Tifa and Cloud had now descended the ladder and accompanied Yuffie and Cid's remarks of incredulity.

"I don't believe this!"

"How many Weapons are there?"

"S'not important. We gotta do our job, remember?"

Barret snapped everyone out of their trance before sprinting across the grass towards the woodland that surrounded Mideel.

Yuffie quickly followed suit and charged ahead of Barret. As she ran, she found herself gazing in awe into the sky. Much like the prairie, the silver plumage of Weapon glistened in the sunlight. Before long she was beneath the menacing shadow of the Weapon, approaching the jungle-like woods. She bounded over many ditches and carelessly leaped through patches of nettles. Mideel was still a couple of miles from the edge of woods where the party had landed. However, by sheer chance the group came across a footpath after a mile or so and did not need to plod on through the undergrowth. Not once did she halt for breath, nor stop to remove dust amassing in her boots. And when it seemed as if nothing could halt Yuffie's unwavering determination she stopped. Was that gunfire!

A minute later, Barret came running up beside her.

"Not me, that. Haven't fired a bullet all day…"

Yuffie noticed a guilty streak in Barret's voice as he said this but dismissed it as the others came running into view.

"We heard gunfire!"

"Surely the people aren't taking it on all by themselves!"

Cloud and Tifa were equally puzzled. Cid, who was already wheezing was muttering obscenities to himself.

"Awright. No time to waste. Let's go!"

If the new silver-white Weapon had surprised them it was nothing compared to the next shock in store for them. As they scurried the final stretch to Mideel, it was unmistakeable as to where the gunfire had come from.

"Shin-Ra!" Yuffie exclaimed startled, spotting a line of blue-uniformed soldiers firing frantically in the air.

There was no doubt about it; they were aiming towards the beast in the sky. Could Shin-Ra be repenting for its past sins by these acts of charity? Yuffie highly doubted that and had made a strict vow with herself never to forgive Shin-Ra for what they had done in the past.

"So…" Cloud began, "The rumours are true. Shin-Ra hasn't given up yet."

Everyone, except Barret who stood, arms crossed and silent, turned Cloud's way. Yuffie always imagined that Cloud knew all the answers.

"They're bad news right Cloud?" she said, nodding for his agreement.

"Who can say? Or what's left of it. After all, Reno and the Turks are at the top of the food chain now that Hiedeggar and Scarlet are dead. Still, by the looks of it they have some mighty power in their Shin-Ra investment – look at all those troops…"

His suspicions were probably pinpoint accurate, Yuffie thought peeking through a bush at a myriad of soldiers.

Tifa spoke quietly to her, "I heard rumours in Midgar that after Meteor, the city came just collapsed. And it hasn't recovered yet. Parents wonder the city, searching the sectors for lost children with heavy hearts. People are still suffering. I…dare not go back there. My memories…"

She paused and sniffled, "People were lost and confused. They praised AVALANCHE at first but soon felt trapped once more by the huge changes in their lives. Folks in Kalm were keen to help and accommodate at first. They gave up their beds, hosted all those who sought solace and the place was brimming with refugees from the city. But even the kind Kalm people had their limits. The migrants of Midgar became so numerous and demanding that the Mayor himself demanded that space be reserved for the 'truly needy'. The desperate people from Midgar began feigning illness, claiming more and more absurd things so that they could remain in the peaceful village. Back in Midgar, those people who had remained had some hope left - news from the South, from Junon. 'Shin-Ra will be reborn'. Shin-Ra would restore Midgar and work with the public to build a better future for the people and the planet. Just what we always wanted right? Cloud, Barret and Cid did go, of course…but there was only so much they could do"

Yuffie was hypnotised by Tifa's words. This was all news to her. As far as she knew, Midgar had been recovering quite promisingly.

"So I hear that the people were ready to try anything - even work with Shin-Ra if it meant getting a semblance of routine back into their troubled lives. And I hear that sectors one and two were rebuilt pretty hastily with three and four in progress. They weren't to be called sectors anymore and they wouldn't have barriers or concrete walls to separate them. And they wouldn't run on Mako. And there would be no tower staring down, mocking them anymore. People would be happy"

Barret had begun listening in and gave an ambivalent look as Tifa continued,

"Though I have never seen these supposed changes nor heard any more of such things"

She stopped abruptly and remained tight-lipped, having said all she wanted to. Yuffie remembered where she was once again. She faced the chaotic scene behind her once again. From their secluded position, she could see at least one hundred soldiers. Most were gunning Weapon but she even witnessed soldiers carrying women and children to safety. The Turks didn't appear to be present though curiously, the more Yuffie observed her surroundings the more she noticed the lack of casualties. In fact, she couldn't catch sight of a single injured person. Shin-Ra must have been doing an amazing job.

"This is stupid!" she burst out impulsively. She even surprised herself.

"Shin-Ra doesn't act like we do. They're ruthless, remember. Must be up to somethin', huh?"

Yuffie knew that this was her heart speaking but her head could not deny Shin-Ra's seemingly benevolent actions happening before her very eyes.

"At least we should check it out!"

Everyone, even Barret, nodded in compliance.

Such was the deafening resonances of nearby barrages of bullets and hysterical panic within the village that the presence of Cloud and the gang went almost completely unnoticed. The village was in a respectable state considering – Mideel was not only singled out by Ultima Weapon several months ago, but the village was further devastated by the eruption of a Lifestream spring shortly afterwards. Now the town had been partially rebuilt – the timber had been replaced rather wisely by more stable brickwork and a few more buildings had been constructed, extending the village further into the jungle. However, building work was far from complete and more than half of the structures were still surrounded by scaffolding.

As soon as she had made these observations, Yuffie looked around her. Her companions had dispersed.

"Oh yeah, time for action. Go me go!"

Yuffie darted to a nearby ladder, leaning against a tall shack in the corner of the village centre. Head up high, focused on Weapon looming above her, she failed to spot…

"C'mon! We got orders to attack any of Cloud's cronies, remember!"

A commander, dressed in crimson uniform and twice Yuffie's height landed a merciless kick into her chest. The solid earth awaited her as she came flying helplessly off her feet. Not a second had passed and four soldiers had pinned her down onto the floor. She tried to resist. However, the winded ninja was struggling to breathe.

"Yo..you!" she panted.

"And YOU! You do not have authorisation to be here!"

"Authouri…?"

"Pathetic. This is OUR mission, not yours. The Turks've got this one covered"

"Uhhh…"

The commander released a cruel snort echoed by the sniggers of his soldiers.

"Ha. I guess seeing your ass kicked IS funny!"

And with that remark, Yuffie corkscrewed to her feet again, propelling the four soldiers metres around her.

"Oh puh-lease. Like I'm THAT outta practice!" she wheezed.

The commander countered with another vicious boot to the groin.

"Stop doing that, creep!"

A roundhouse kick to the face was his punishment as Yuffie leapt was onto the ladder. With a fuming commander on her tail she climbed upwards as fast she could. That was an idea…

"That oughta do it. Haste!"

Yuffie brought her shuriken to her chest and began to emit an emerald glow. Not a moment too soon either. The commander had grasped her ankles and she clutched the final step with dear life.

"Want my ankles huh?"

Yuffie gnashed her teeth.

"You crazy bitch!" the Commander hollered as Yuffie stamped her boots relentlessly on his fragile fingers. After several piercing cracks of fingers snapping, he released his grip and plummeted helplessly to the ground.

"Ah! Might use that materia for tap dancing sometime"

Upon the summit of this small tower, Yuffie could distinguish Cid sweeping his Venus Gospel across the ground in circles, tripping up a mob of Shin-Ra soldiers surrounding him. Tifa, likewise was holding her own. The blue shapes of soldiers looked to be almost radiating from her fists as she repelled the Shin-Ra soldiers heading for her.

"Looks like I got off easy" she mumbled before heading for cover as bullets, intended for both her and Weapon came soaring towards her. Above her, Weapon seemed to be simply watching over the pandemonium below and not really doing much else. As far as Yuffie was concerned, she needed to get in range of the airborne monster. The Highwind would _really _be useful around about now but she needed to improvise. After few seconds of futile taunts towards Weapon, Yuffie decided that luring Weapon down was probably not the safest nor easiest option. The Highwind was far away and soldiers had begun swarming beneath her, mounting the ladder as of that very second.

"This is my only shot!" she exclaimed apprehensively as a Plan B formulated in her mind.

"Pleeeeeease work!"

She extracted some red materia from her pocket and covered her palms over it.

"Bahamut!"

The force of the spell made Yuffie quiver from top to toe. Fortunately she managed to sustain her balance as a glistening entity came speeding directly towards the village from high in the blue sky. The tiny gleam soon grew in size as the object drew closer to Mideel. As Bahamut stormed into view he glided towards the tower, dipping just metres above the rampage below, obliterating a rooftop in its wake ("Ooops!"). The cowardly soldiers pursuing Yuffie fled without a second thought as it approached the young ninja.

Regardless, Yuffie stood poised and undisturbed by the giant dragon. Before she even realised it, Yuffie took a bold leap from the overlooking tower. As Bahamut arrived, he swiftly bent towards the sky and rocketed into the clouds. Yuffie had narrowly escaped potential death (or certain hospitalisation) as she seized the dragon's leg. Not for all the materia in the world would she contemplate releasing her unyielding grip. Luckily, Bahamut was not at all impeded by the stowaway and welcomed Yuffie as she climbed cautiously onto its back.

Motion sickness would be a welcome change, Yuffie thought as Mideel became a mere iota of the landscape.

"What the crap am I doing!" she squealed, her legs flapping lifelessly in the zephyr. She was half overcome with exhilaration and half with panic that she'd never felt before. The deafening noises of Mideel had faded now and only the gusts of air brushing past her ears could be heard. She squeeled as a shoe slowly but surely slithered across her toes and nose-dived back down to earth.

Her mind was blank for once and all the while Bahamut hauled her closer and closer to the clouds. Finally, the creature came to a sudden halt above Weapon's head. From here, it looked bigger than ever as it hovered ghost-like in the sky, taking the abuse of hundreds of bullets from below. Yuffie gazed at its vacant expression with curiosity. Up close, the Weapon seemed to be as inactive as the clouds themselves and equally harmless. She thought back a few minutes. She had already noted a lack of casualties on the ground and the only evident damage had been from that roof that she herself was responsible for.

Bahamut was less perplexed by such thoughts. The dragon, open-mouthed and amassing a bright light beam between its jaws, was focused on its apathetic target. If Yuffie was having second thoughts, there was nothing that could be done now. The piercing laser teared through the sky and directly into Weapon. Bahamut, with his duty fulfilled, shook his head in pride and darted back to earth with Yuffie passing out from terror.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – An enemy to the rescue? 

It was no time to worry about trivialities, Yuffie concluded as she stepped down the Highwind's rope ladder. Cloud's unrivalled motivation was enough to completely rid her of all that psychological garbage. After a short and snappy gathering in the conference room, her job was clear – head straight for the beast and take it down. It was still morning, though a rumble in Yuffie's stomach informed her that lunchtime was near. The sun blazed down onto the plain, causing countless twinkles on the dewy grass. She stepped onto the soft ground and across the meadow.

The Highwind was stationed about a half a mile east of the Mideel woods upon a shallow knoll, but even from this distance it was instantly recognisable to Yuffie,

"That's…a Weapon!"

Cid lit a cigarette with a grumble.

"Goddammit. Lady Luck hates my guts"

"It's huuu-ggee!"

"And just when I thought we were goin' on a picnic"

It was a Weapon alright, looming silently over the desolate village of Mideel. It was unlike any other Weapon Yuffie had ever seen – a dragon-like creature with at least twenty set of wings across its feathered back. Most astonishing of all however was its colour – a shimmering light grey.

Tifa and Cloud had now descended the ladder and accompanied Yuffie and Cid's remarks of incredulity.

"I don't believe this!"

"How many Weapons are there?"

"S'not important. We gotta do our job, remember?"

Barret snapped everyone out of their trance before sprinting across the grass towards the woodland that surrounded Mideel.

Yuffie quickly followed suit and charged ahead of Barret. As she ran, she found herself gazing in awe into the sky. Much like the prairie, the silver plumage of Weapon glistened in the sunlight. Before long she was beneath the menacing shadow of the Weapon, approaching the jungle-like woods. She bounded over many ditches and carelessly leaped through patches of nettles. Mideel was still a couple of miles from the edge of woods where the party had landed. However, by sheer chance the group came across a footpath after a mile or so and did not need to plod on through the undergrowth. Not once did she halt for breath, nor stop to remove dust amassing in her boots. And when it seemed as if nothing could halt Yuffie's unwavering determination she stopped. Was that gunfire!

A minute later, Barret came running up beside her.

"Not me, that. Haven't fired a bullet all day…"

Yuffie noticed a guilty streak in Barret's voice as he said this but dismissed it as the others came running into view.

"We heard gunfire!"

"Surely the people aren't taking it on all by themselves!"

Cloud and Tifa were equally puzzled. Cid, who was already wheezing was muttering obscenities to himself.

"Awright. No time to waste. Let's go!"

If the new silver-white Weapon had surprised them it was nothing compared to the next shock in store for them. As they scurried the final stretch to Mideel, it was unmistakeable as to where the gunfire had come from.

"Shin-Ra!" Yuffie exclaimed startled, spotting a line of blue-uniformed soldiers firing frantically in the air.

There was no doubt about it; they were aiming towards the beast in the sky. Could Shin-Ra be repenting for its past sins by these acts of charity? Yuffie highly doubted that and had made a strict vow with herself never to forgive Shin-Ra for what they had done in the past.

"So…" Cloud began, "The rumours are true. Shin-Ra hasn't given up yet."

Everyone, except Barret who stood, arms crossed and silent, turned Cloud's way. Yuffie always imagined that Cloud knew all the answers.

"They're bad news right Cloud?" she said, nodding for his agreement.

"Who can say? Or what's left of it. After all, Reno and the Turks are at the top of the food chain now that Hiedeggar and Scarlet are dead. Still, by the looks of it they have some mighty power in their Shin-Ra investment – look at all those troops…"

His suspicions were probably pinpoint accurate, Yuffie thought peeking through a bush at a myriad of soldiers.

Tifa spoke quietly to her, "I heard rumours in Midgar that after Meteor, the city came just collapsed. And it hasn't recovered yet. Parents wonder the city, searching the sectors for lost children with heavy hearts. People are still suffering. I…dare not go back there. My memories…"

She paused and sniffled, "People were lost and confused. They praised AVALANCHE at first but soon felt trapped once more by the huge changes in their lives. Folks in Kalm were keen to help and accommodate at first. They gave up their beds, hosted all those who sought solace and the place was brimming with refugees from the city. But even the kind Kalm people had their limits. The migrants of Midgar became so numerous and demanding that the Mayor himself demanded that space be reserved for the 'truly needy'. The desperate people from Midgar began feigning illness, claiming more and more absurd things so that they could remain in the peaceful village. Back in Midgar, those people who had remained had some hope left - news from the South, from Junon. 'Shin-Ra will be reborn'. Shin-Ra would restore Midgar and work with the public to build a better future for the people and the planet. Just what we always wanted right? Cloud, Barret and Cid did go, of course…but there was only so much they could do"

Yuffie was hypnotised by Tifa's words. This was all news to her. As far as she knew, Midgar had been recovering quite promisingly.

"So I hear that the people were ready to try anything - even work with Shin-Ra if it meant getting a semblance of routine back into their troubled lives. And I hear that sectors one and two were rebuilt pretty hastily with three and four in progress. They weren't to be called sectors anymore and they wouldn't have barriers or concrete walls to separate them. And they wouldn't run on Mako. And there would be no tower staring down, mocking them anymore. People would be happy"

Barret had begun listening in and gave an ambivalent look as Tifa continued,

"Though I have never seen these supposed changes nor heard any more of such things"

She stopped abruptly and remained tight-lipped, having said all she wanted to. Yuffie remembered where she was once again. She faced the chaotic scene behind her once again. From their secluded position, she could see at least one hundred soldiers. Most were gunning Weapon but she even witnessed soldiers carrying women and children to safety. The Turks didn't appear to be present though curiously, the more Yuffie observed her surroundings the more she noticed the lack of casualties. In fact, she couldn't catch sight of a single injured person. Shin-Ra must have been doing an amazing job.

"This is stupid!" she burst out impulsively. She even surprised herself.

"Shin-Ra doesn't act like we do. They're ruthless, remember. Must be up to somethin', huh?"

Yuffie knew that this was her heart speaking but her head could not deny Shin-Ra's seemingly benevolent actions happening before her very eyes.

"At least we should check it out!"

Everyone, even Barret, nodded in compliance.

Such was the deafening resonances of nearby barrages of bullets and hysterical panic within the village that the presence of Cloud and the gang went almost completely unnoticed. The village was in a respectable state considering – Mideel was not only singled out by Ultima Weapon several months ago, but the village was further devastated by the eruption of a Lifestream spring shortly afterwards. Now the town had been partially rebuilt – the timber had been replaced rather wisely by more stable brickwork and a few more buildings had been constructed, extending the village further into the jungle. However, building work was far from complete and more than half of the structures were still surrounded by scaffolding.

As soon as she had made these observations, Yuffie looked around her. Her companions had dispersed.

"Oh yeah, time for action. Go me go!"

Yuffie darted to a nearby ladder, leaning against a tall shack in the corner of the village centre. Head up high, focused on Weapon looming above her, she failed to spot…

"C'mon! We got orders to attack any of Cloud's cronies, remember!"

A commander, dressed in crimson uniform and twice Yuffie's height landed a merciless kick into her chest. The solid earth awaited her as she came flying helplessly off her feet. Not a second had passed and four soldiers had pinned her down onto the floor. She tried to resist. However, the winded ninja was struggling to breathe.

"Yo..you!" she panted.

"And YOU! You do not have authorisation to be here!"

"Authouri…?"

"Pathetic. This is OUR mission, not yours. The Turks've got this one covered"

"Uhhh…"

The commander released a cruel snort echoed by the sniggers of his soldiers.

"Ha. I guess seeing your ass kicked IS funny!"

And with that remark, Yuffie corkscrewed to her feet again, propelling the four soldiers metres around her.

"Oh puh-lease. Like I'm THAT outta practice!" she wheezed.

The commander countered with another vicious boot to the groin.

"Stop doing that, creep!"

A roundhouse kick to the face was his punishment as Yuffie leapt was onto the ladder. With a fuming commander on her tail she climbed upwards as fast she could. That was an idea…

"That oughta do it. Haste!"

Yuffie brought her shuriken to her chest and began to emit an emerald glow. Not a moment too soon either. The commander had grasped her ankles and she clutched the final step with dear life.

"Want my ankles huh?"

Yuffie gnashed her teeth.

"You crazy bitch!" the Commander hollered as Yuffie stamped her boots relentlessly on his fragile fingers. After several piercing cracks of fingers snapping, he released his grip and plummeted helplessly to the ground.

"Ah! Might use that materia for tap dancing sometime"

Upon the summit of this small tower, Yuffie could distinguish Cid sweeping his Venus Gospel across the ground in circles, tripping up a mob of Shin-Ra soldiers surrounding him. Tifa, likewise was holding her own. The blue shapes of soldiers looked to be almost radiating from her fists as she repelled the Shin-Ra soldiers heading for her.

"Looks like I got off easy" she mumbled before heading for cover as bullets, intended for both her and Weapon came soaring towards her. Above her, Weapon seemed to be simply watching over the pandemonium below and not really doing much else. As far as Yuffie was concerned, she needed to get in range of the airborne monster. The Highwind would _really _be useful around about now but she needed to improvise. After few seconds of futile taunts towards Weapon, Yuffie decided that luring Weapon down was probably not the safest nor easiest option. The Highwind was far away and soldiers had begun swarming beneath her, mounting the ladder as of that very second.

"This is my only shot!" she exclaimed apprehensively as a Plan B formulated in her mind.

"Pleeeeeease work!"

She extracted some red materia from her pocket and covered her palms over it.

"Bahamut!"

The force of the spell made Yuffie quiver from top to toe. Fortunately she managed to sustain her balance as a glistening entity came speeding directly towards the village from high in the blue sky. The tiny gleam soon grew in size as the object drew closer to Mideel. As Bahamut stormed into view he glided towards the tower, dipping just metres above the rampage below, obliterating a rooftop in its wake ("Ooops!"). The cowardly soldiers pursuing Yuffie fled without a second thought as it approached the young ninja.

Regardless, Yuffie stood poised and undisturbed by the giant dragon. Before she even realised it, Yuffie took a bold leap from the overlooking tower. As Bahamut arrived, he swiftly bent towards the sky and rocketed into the clouds. Yuffie had narrowly escaped potential death (or certain hospitalisation) as she seized the dragon's leg. Not for all the materia in the world would she contemplate releasing her unyielding grip. Luckily, Bahamut was not at all impeded by the stowaway and welcomed Yuffie as she climbed cautiously onto its back.

Motion sickness would be a welcome change, Yuffie thought as Mideel became a mere iota of the landscape.

"What the crap am I doing!" she squealed, her legs flapping lifelessly in the zephyr. She was half overcome with exhilaration and half with panic that she'd never felt before. The deafening noises of Mideel had faded now and only the gusts of air brushing past her ears could be heard. She squeeled as a shoe slowly but surely slithered across her toes and nose-dived back down to earth.

Her mind was blank for once and all the while Bahamut hauled her closer and closer to the clouds. Finally, the creature came to a sudden halt above Weapon's head. From here, it looked bigger than ever as it hovered ghost-like in the sky, taking the abuse of hundreds of bullets from below. Yuffie gazed at its vacant expression with curiosity. Up close, the Weapon seemed to be as inactive as the clouds themselves and equally harmless. She thought back a few minutes. She had already noted a lack of casualties on the ground and the only evident damage had been from that roof that she herself was responsible for.

Bahamut was less perplexed by such thoughts. The dragon, open-mouthed and amassing a bright light beam between its jaws, was focused on its apathetic target. If Yuffie was having second thoughts, there was nothing that could be done now. The piercing laser teared through the sky and directly into Weapon. Bahamut, with his duty fulfilled, shook his head in pride and darted back to earth with Yuffie passing out from terror.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Guardian of the Great Canyon

The first thing Yuffie sensed was the humming of a wasp scurrying around her left ear. Fatigue still loitered in her muscles after that tranquil slumber but from the putrid smell around her she remembered that she was no longer in Wutai. Her eyes opened to face the world again. She wished she had left them shut.

"Oh gawd!" she uttered.

She was face to face with that Shin-Ra commander. She buried her eyes into that cold, morbid mug of his with dread. He was dead alright; heavy slabs smothering the rest of his body confirmed that. As the blood ran down his mouth at snail's pace, Yuffie found herself staring back, empty-minded and dumbfounded. It was almost ten minutes before she even thought about anything else. Casting the pains in her thighs to the back of her mind, Yuffie struggled to her feet. Mideel was covered in corpses. Bodies were slumped under the thick black bricks of recently charred buildings and Yuffie dared not step foot over the rubble in case there were survivors beneath. A dusty fog concealed the edges of the street and the squalid stench seemed to crawl into her skin.

The sky had washed into a palette of orange and red as she stood alone, accompanied only by the warm summer wind. Large, narrow leaves of the Mideel jungle were dancing in the breeze and as the wasp finally fluttered away, she noticed the unnerving hush of the place.

"Hello? Any-anybody here?" she exclaimed desperately.

There was no reply, save the distant tumbling of dust from a roof beyond her sight. Being brave was Yuffie's only option, though on this rare occasion she struggled to muster up her trademark pluck. She stepped on a large metal sheet, staggered over a debris heap as she searched for an exit in this maze. She thought about plugging her ears with her fingers (in case someone beneath her wailed in agony) and sprinted over a mound of remains of the former item shop.

No sooner had Yuffie clambered up, her spirit temporarily lightened.

"Lifestream!" she wailed.

A pool of Lifestream was flowing serenely in a small gorge. The glowing emerald liquid shone elegantly amongst the carnage, gently ebbing just a few metres from her feet. As she gazed into this mesmerizing lagoon, her thoughts were stopped dead. She was overcome by feelings of harmony, fertility, security and affection - everything that the Lifestream represented. She found herself lost in the sheer force of the Planet, reverent to its power. So compelling were these thoughts that as she finally moved her eyes away from the Lifestream she was softly gasping for air.

The whole experience also jogged her memory of the Lifestream appearing in the exact same place many months ago, when Cloud and Tifa plunged into the unknown depths of the Planet and thankfully were washed up again a while later. She had never grilled the two to delve into the details of their experience there and now especially she did not care to know.

An image of Aeris floated around her head. It was most bizarre.

Despite the presence of the Lifestream, the fleeting memory of her deceased companion offered little comfort – with all its awesome energy it failed to deliver a warming cheer that she could have done with right now. Yuffie felt more deserted here than she ever had in Wutai. A lump was swelling in her throat and she was fighting the tears. After all, ninjas do not cry.

"Miss Kisaragi?"

"Is that…?"

"Yes"

Her heart skipped a beat and sure enough, the red-coated beast of Cosmo Canyon came leaping into view from behind an upturned handcart, his blazing tail flickering in the breeze. Before she could think another thought, he spoke,

"Are you alright?"

"Hey, how did you…?"

"Are you alright?" he repeated. "Are you hurt? You don't look too bad"

"Bruised but thankfully that's the worst of it" Yuffie replied sincerely, glimpsing a lifeless body sprawled on a bank.

"I was intending to join you, Miss. However, mitigating circumstances prevented me in doing so"

"Miti-what?"

" I am sorry I couldn't come sooner. And I am sorry that this all had to happen"

"Yeah" Yuffie mumbled, "But you're here now"

Red's eyes fell to the floor. They were aggrieved and lamenting.

"Yuffie, enemies are around. They are here in Mideel still. We must leave now. Questions later"

She responded to the request that they leave with gentle nodding. He lifted his eyes and focused upon her. Still, his eyes were emitting a sombre grief, both cheering and saddening her.

"Thank you" he uttered.

With that, Red soared at least three metres into the air, clearing a mound of bricks with ease and vanishing into the sandy horizon. Yuffie was left to take a final moment glancing at both the Lifestream and the unsettling ruin around her. She began to climb the same brick mound, digging each weary foot into small gaps until the ground levelled again. With each step, a sense of discomfort harassed her mind.

She felt guilt about leaving Mideel; guilt about leaving possible survivors and the guilt that _she_ had been blessed with the fortune to survive all of this.

She had hardly had the time in the midst of her troubles to spare a thought for her friends. In all the shock she realised that she had placed the welfare of Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Barret to the back of her mind; yet another reason for her to feel ashamed and guilty. She owed it to them to keep fighting, to keep herself going. With this in mind she hastened and galloped over the debris, tracking Red's fiery beacon for a way out of Mideel.

A number of hours before the pair managed to navigate themselves out of Mideel and a good way through the forests of the island. Red had decided that it would be safer for them to not go east, which entailed a relatively short trek before they reached open fields and the Highwind. Instead, Yuffie was left with no choice but trust that Red was leading them to the best place. As soon as he had informed her of their western purpose, which led them deeper into Mideel's jungle Yuffie had questioned his decision. He noted her understandable concern,

"Miss. Kisaragi. You say that our friends arrived with you on the Highwind to east. However, I am afraid they are no longer there. Where they are, I do not know but I have seen nor heard nothing of the airship. All I am certain of is that we are being hunted and it would not be wise for us to head out into the open and expose ourselves"

Red said nothing more on the subject and Yuffie respected Red's judgment too much to probe further into the matter. But the word 'hunted' lingered on in her mind. Red paused every so often without warning and would wander into the bushes checking that they were not being followed. In these moments, Yuffie seemed to have her confidence stripped of her, haunted by the prospect of these 'hunters'. All alone she worried, imagining who or what Red believed was trying to track them down and she never failed to be relieved when he returned ten, sometimes fifteen minutes later, content that they were not being followed. Did he not believe that the two of them, both veteran fighters could not tackle these pursuers? Were they too weak?

"Rest your mind Miss, for now"

They had not been fortunate enough to stumble upon a pathway through the woodland this time, though their progress was still decent. Carroty orange had turned to a striking crimson which had turned to a blue and the sky deepened gradually with every step. Soon brilliant stars dotted across the heavens and the warm breeze chilled. Despite the stars amassing above, Yuffie strained her eyes to see the path ahead and they quickly ached. Soon, the outlines of trees disappeared completely and she needed to keep her eyes fixed on Red's blazing tail that lit up just enough of the earth in front of her to move on. This was unbelievably tiring and as she let out her first yawn, Red came to a standstill and broke the silence,

"You are tired, as am I. Our advancement has exceeded my expectations. I say we rest, don't you? After all, my tail is hardly inconspicuous in the dark. I must make effort to conceal it. Quick and come this way"

He headed off down a ditch, overrun by both shrubbery and relentless mosquitos. Yuffie pulled a face in disbelief as she followed him further and just as she was on the verge of collapsing on the spot, Red slowed his pace. They had reached an area further down the trench, where the ground was not overgrown with weeds but soil and patches of moss. The mosquitos were far fewer here. Much to her relief, Red whispered from in front,

"We shall rest here tonight. You just make yourself comfortable Miss, while I just sort this matter out"

Yuffie was far too exhausted and heavy-eyed to be concerned about being comfortable. She crouched into the ditch, which Red had carefully chosen for its dryness and spaciousness. As she began to rest her head against a thick patch of moss, the red-coated beast began digging into the soil as if he felt no fatigue. He dug a narrow opening in the side of the ditch a half metre deep for the end of his tail to rest in as he slept. Right above them the silver moon bloomed in the sky. There were much fewer trees around them now and the silver full moon was exposed against the silhouette of branches above.

Yuffie suddenly let out a question,

"So, like, what's with howling at the moon then?"

Red, settling into his more cramped position registered a surprised look and slowly raised his left eye. There was enough moonlight in this patch of the jungle for her to see his reaction.

"I mean, you howl at the moon don't you?" she asked with as much sincerity as she could. She wandered if Red had taken offence to the question for whatever reason.

"Miss. Kisaragi. I haven't even offered any sort of explanation yet. I would have thought you'd want to hear it now"

Yuffie hesitated, then removed her boots and placed them upon the bank opposite her. As she massaged her worn ankles those uneasy thoughts that had been disturbing her for the last couple of hours returned.

"Red, I guess I just…I 'unno. Perhaps I don't want to know"

She did not understand why she said this to him – she was itching to learn about the fate of Mideel, her friends, Shin-Ra and these 'hunters'. All the same, she was not in the mood for the heavy stuff right now.

"I'm pretty drained right now, you know?"

She yawned liberally.

"Tell me…tell me about you, Red. You and Cosmo Canyon"

Red was slightly taken aback by her request, not expecting such an appeal from Yuffie at all. The leaves whispering in the treetops above and the gentle chanting of grasshoppers seemed to have calmed Red. Somehow, Yuffie's eyelids had not yet succumbed to the fatigue and Red, who still exhibited no sign of his own tiredness gave a light chuckle.

"The elders of my hometown are not terribly pleased with me" he began.

"A-why?" Yuffie questioned. It was an unusual statement to begin a story with.

"Well, Miss. You see, I have left them. I have abandoned my duty as Guardian to come here. I have risked the same shame that I once felt for my father. Rumours have emerged of new shadows swarming beneath the Canyon and some say they hear the haunting cries of the Gi reawakening in the deep chasms under my hometown. And I, I have departed my hometown in its time of need. I do not suppose I can blame them for feeling so disappointed with me"

Yuffie did not know what to say so she decided to remain neutral in her reaction,

"Why did you leave, Red?"

"Well, it was over a year ago that Hojo of Shin-Ra came to our great town. My late grandpa was around then and at that time, he was happy to welcome Hojo with a warm reception. They spent many days in his observatory, often without emerging for many hours. I was certainly intrigued but I let grandpa get on with it. But I was suspicious of Hojo from the very beginning. There was something not quite right"

"With Hojo? I'm not surprised you were suspicious. The man was a creep in and out"

"Most definitely! But still, I had no opportunity to discuss this with grandpa. On the sixth day after Hojo's arrival I was summoned to a meeting with the elders – the Gi you see"

"Right the Gi. But they were rumours, right?"

"Certainly nothing concrete. I brushed the rumours off as mere speculation. The people of the planet were shaken by Meteor, that's for sure. I hear Midgar is in quite a state. The people of Corel are talking about the Gold Saucer collapsing into the sand. Fear goes a long way to creating more fear, it seems."

Yuffie began to realise just how detached her isolated hometown really was from the rest of the world and its problems.

"But when I heard from Cloud…" he continued "…well, I made a promise to my grandpa; a promise to protect this planet above all else and a promise to trust Cloud"

Red laid his head gently upon his paws. That was all that he was going to say for tonight. A moment passed.

"Mr. Bugenhagen knew everything, didn't he?" muttered Yuffie before finally dozing off.

Red took a final glance into the undergrowth before doing the same.

**To be continued**

**Let me know what you think/ideas. :) **


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